A second women’s bantamweight bout has been added to the upcoming UFC Fight Night 82: “Cerrone vs Means” event, which takes place on February 21st in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Marion “The Belizean Bruiser” Reneau battles Ashlee Evans-Smith in featured action on the card.
UFC officials announced the matchup earlier today. Reneau looks to get back into title contention after dropping a Unanimous Decision to current bantamweight champ Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm. Evans-Smith returns to action for the first time since suffering her first loss at UFC 181.
Reneau (6-2-0) became an instant sensation this past year after winning back-to-back fights against heavily-favoured opponents in her first two fights inside the Octagon. She first destroyed Alexis “Sneaky Zebra” Dufresne at UFC 182 in January, then submitted Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade seven weeks later at UFC Fight Night 61. However, Reneau’s rise to the top of the division was halted in July by Holm, who outstruck the Californian en route to a clear-cut decision win.
Evans-Smith (3-1-0) made headlines early in her pro career by winning the inaugural CFA Women’s Featherweight Championship. She signed on with the UFC after scoring a third-round TKO victory for World Series of Fighting, and engaged in an entertaining bout with Raquel “Rocky” Pennington in late 2014, but Evans-Smith was rendered unconscious by a Pennington bulldog choke at the end of round one and she was subsequently fined and suspended after testing positive for a banned diuretic.
With both fighters seeking redemption, next month’s bout between Reneau and Evans-Smith will be a pivotal one in determining which fighter enters the championship hunt.
UFC Fight Night 82: “Cerrone vs Means” takes place on February 21st at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The event is headlined by a welterweight bout between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means, and also features a second women’s bantamweight matchup between Lauren Murphy and Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras.
(Photo Credit: UFC)